Laughter as medicine? They kid you not

May 2, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Dr. Madan Kataria, the founder of Laughter Yoga International, giggling in one of his many YouTube videos. FRAME GRAB FROM YOUTUBE

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Sheila Horowitz leads a Laughter Yoga class at least once a month, and she also leads instruction at businesses and schools. Her group will meet Sunday, World Laughter Day, at the farmer's market at the Great Park in Irvine, from 12 to 1. PHOTO COURTESY OF SHEILA HOROWITZ

Really, when was the last time your workout felt so good you doubled over with laughter?

Sunday is World Laughter Day, which is sort of like Super Bowl Sunday for the movement known as Laughter Yoga. It was started by an Indian physician in 1995, and there are now thousands of "laughter clubs" worldwide. The technique is just as it sounds: Get a bunch of people together and start laughing, for no reason, and it makes you feel better.

"Physically, it's like the chemistry of happiness," says Sheila Horowitz, who leads a local group called Laughter Yoga CA. "By being happy, your whole body feels different. Your self-esteem goes up. Your whole outlook on life is so much better."

If you see people this weekend in a park guffawing at one another, or posting videos of themselves laughing spontaneously, don't call a mental-health professional. Laughter Yoga groups in 70 countries are planning special events Sunday. Horowitz's group will meet at the farmers market at the Great Park in Irvine from noon to 1 p.m. Get there at 11:45 for the kazoo parade.

Laughter Yoga incorporates breathing techniques from yoga, but the main health benefit, proponents say, comes from the laughter itself: The website for Laughter Yoga International says a "good laugh has the ability to ease pain as a result of disease or injury. Laughter offers respite from arthritis stress and provides both physical and mental relief.

"Scientific studies show that laughter has positive effects on the heart, blood vessels, stress hormones, mental health and family relationships. These health benefits of laughter all contribute to smoother overall functioning, which in turn speeds injury healing and helps manage chronic pain."

Although there are few large-scale studies examining the therapeutic benefits of laughter, there's evidence that laughter really can be medicine. A 2011 study at Oxford said the physical act of laughing produced an increase in endorphins, the brain chemicals that give us a sense of well-being. Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary psychologist, posited that laughter might have been an important signal for social bonding in the evolutions of humans. He called it "grooming at a distance."

The guy who came up with Laughter Yoga was Dr. Madan Kataria, and he led the first such gathering in a park in Mumbai. Five people showed up. The club nearly disbanded, because they figured the best way to laugh was to tell jokes, and after about a week they ran out of jokes. But Kataria soon realized humor wasn't needed; forced laughter could soon turn into natural, genuine laughter, just by making eye contact and sharing a human connection.

The Orange County group uses a variety of exercises and games to get people laughing. "We typically generate fun and invent creative exercises that normally stimulate laughter in people within three seconds," says the website, LaughterYogaCA.com.

Kataria doesn't need any prompting to get going. In a funny video from Jan. 29, 2010, he speaks into his webcam and talks about how he has just woken up early. Everyone else in his house is asleep. He's trying, and failing, to laugh without making any sound. "It's almost 5 a.m. in Mumbai, and I want to laugh!" he says.

Horowitz, who describes herself as a doctor of naturopathic medicine as well as a certified massage therapist, has been involved with Laughter Yoga since 2006 (Kataria's website, LaughterYoga.org, shows all the places where people can get trained as leaders and teachers; there are several sessions coming up in O.C.). Horowitz has been involved with World Laughter Day since the first one, in 2007.

Horowitz leads about one class a month. The group also visits businesses and schools to lend some much-needed mirth.

"Afterward, you feel like you've had a cardio workout," Horowitz says. "There are no set poses, no special clothes. Just working our diaphragms, our cheeks, our mouths."

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